Slushie GamzeeXTavros
by strange-is-easier
Summary: Tavros is a 17 year old boy living alone and desperately trying to make through the rest of high school. Gamzee is a 18 year old working for his fathers carnival. When Gamzee gets fed up with his dad and decides to leave said carnival and live in Tavros' home town he may just get more then he bargained for. (Sorry for the sucky summary) T because of Gamzee's mouth.
1. Chapter 1

Your name is Tavros Nitram and you are most definitely the biggest idiot on the planet. Why you ask? Because you decided it would be a good idea to go back to school after you had spilled a slushie down Vriska Serket's shirt. Still lost? Well prepare to hear a perfect example of what not to do if you're a nervous teenage boy with a stuttering problem.

It had started like any other Sunday morning with studying and making sure that you hadn't forgotten any assignments, when you had for some reason decided to visit the boardwalk. You where still quite new to the area but the boardwalk had quickly become a favorite place of yours. Although you preferred it when it wasn't to busy, there where many people visiting today due to the carnival that had came in not two days ago. You didn't mind too much and decided to indulge yourself by buying a slushie from a nearby vendor. Now these slushies were few and far in between for you due to the fact that your parent's had pretty much abandoned you at a public mall. You had been 15 at the time and decided that you would much rather raise yourself then go into the foster system. So you found a run down apartment to call home and a job to keep you alive and housed. You were 17 now and finishing up your last year of high school, that is if you could survive it. Vriska had targeted you since day one but that was mostly verbal abuse with a few slaps and punches here and there. This made things extremely difficult for you but you had wanted to at least complete school, and until now her constant bullying had not left the school grounds.

"Oh Taaaaaaaavros," you immediately made like the slushy and froze. "What a coincidence seeing you here," She walks up behind you and swings her arm over your shoulders. You shudder and try to move away from her but she only tightens her grip. "So toreadork what are you doing here. Oh, what's this?" She reaches for your slushie and tries to take it from your hands, but you're death grip prevents it from going anywhere. She's frustrated by this and it's evident on her face. To keep her from getting madder you let go of the cup. Bad idea. Vriska who was still pulling on the cup unaware that you had let go until it went flying at her chest and dumped all over her shirt. She jumps back in surprise and releases you from where she had been holding you captive a moment ago. She looks at her shirt then snaps her head up and glares at you, so you do what any sane person would have done if they had Vriska Serket glaring at them. You turn and immediately start sprinting in the opposite direction. Thankfully she doesn't chase you which would have ended in her catching up and throwing your dead carcass into the ocean. You manage to run all the way back to your apartment building. As you're running up the stairs you can't help but imagine the terrors she'll have in store for you tomorrow at school. When you reach your door you unlock it as quickly as your clumsy hands are able and rush inside. You lean against the door as it closes and run your hands through your brown fluffy Mohawk. You are so screwed.

The next morning, low and behold screwed you are, because Vriska and her friends where waiting by the gate to drag you behind the school and beat you up. Even after they were done you didn't move, and it wasn't until Nepeta noticed your absence and came to find you that you did. You skipped all your classes and spent the day in your apartment with Nepeta babying you. Thank god that you didn't have work today.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright Tavros?" She asked innocently as you ushered her out of your apartment.

"Y-yeah, uh, really don't worry about me, you've already spent all day caring and worrying and, um, if you stay any longer I'm sure your family will wonder where you are," You replied handing her the green jacket that she had draped over your dusty couch.

"I suppose you're right but try to be careful for the next few days I don't want you to strain yourself or something," She said taking her coat

"I'm sure that won't be too much of a, um, problem," You smiled at her as she turned around and faced the doorway.

"Oh wait," she quickly turned around again and looked at you, "Equius and I were going to go see that carnival that they had in town and I was wondering if you wanted to join us?"

"O-oh no," You quickly intercepted, "I wouldn't want to be in the way, and besides I, uh, don't exactly have the money to pay for a carnival."

"Oh don't worry about that, we already paid for the tickets, and Equius is bringing Aradia so you wouldn't really be in the way at all." You stared at her and decided that she wasn't going to leave until you said yes.

"O-okay you win I'll go you can, um, text me what time you want to meet." She smiled at you before wrapping you into surprise hug.

"I promise you'll have fun Tavros and I'm glad you're coming so I don't have to be the third wheel to those two lovebirds." She released you from her hold which actually hurt quite a bit due to your recent injuries.

"N-no problem Nepeta I'm, uh, glad to be of service." She smiled and turned to leave once again.

"Bye Tavros see you tomorrow," she called over her shoulder when she reached the staircase. You closed the door and turned to look at your apartment. Most people might call this place small or run down but you were pretty proud of what you had made here. To your left there was a small kitchenette area which was a mess due to the fact that Nepeta had wanted to cook you something. To your right was your couch with a round coffee table inches from the wall. You suspected that the architects must have known that whoever stayed here would never be able to afford a TV because there was no room for it. Across from you was a short hallway with one door on each wall. One for your tiny cramped bathroom, and the other for your nearly empty bedroom. You looked again at your kitchen area and shook your head, Nepeta really made a mess in here. You began putting away left out ingredients and put all the dirty dishes into the sink. When the counters where clear you started on the pile of dishes in the sink, the whole time wondering what you were going to do about the Vriska problem. There was no doubt in your mind that Vriska would try to beat you up again, and you really didn't want to end up missing a day of classes again nor did you want to saddle Nepeta with taking care of you. You put down the dish you where washing and sighed; this was just great you always have the worst of luck. Then again you were going to go the carnival with Nepeta so you guess that your life couldn't be all that bad. You finished the dishes quickly and headed to bed, you could tell that it was going to be a long week.

Your name is Gamzee Makara and you don't think you have ever been this bored. Your dad was currently giving the entire carnival staff a pep talk although it wasn't really working because they all looked just as bored as you. You turned your attention to the outside of the tent and just watched people walk past. Then you saw a boy walk up to a vendor a get a slushie, you're not really sure why he caught your eye because he seemed pretty simple with tan skin and a brunet Mohawk. Just then some chick with blonde hair and blue eyes came up behind him; you could immediately tell that he was scared by the way he tensed up. She appeared to be talking to him but I couldn't hear anything from this distance. Her arm swung around his shoulders making him look incredibly uncomfortable, she was still talking to him but he didn't appear to be talking back. The arm that wasn't clenched around his body then came up to grab the slushie from his hands. After a few hard tugs at the cup it didn't seem like the boy was going to give up the slushie. You were wrong, because just then he lets go of the cup and it goes flying at blonde chicks' chest. She jumps back and looks at her shirt in shock, and I can't help but let out a little chuckle at her expression.

"Gamzee what are you laughing at!" Your father's voice booms at you. You turn your head from the shocked blondie to look at him.

"Nothing motherfucker," you reply in your usual stoner drawl.

"Humph," is all that he gives you before he starts addressing the staff again. You just turn back to the opening in the tent, but it seems that the boy is long gone and the girl is stomping off. Well there goes your entertainment for the evening. You sigh and turn back to your droning dad.

By the time your father finally releases everyone from the "important" meeting it's only 30 minutes to Showtime. You immediately run to your tent to apply your face paint and begin your preshow routine of slamming a Faygo and having some pie until your dad starts yelling for everyone to get to there places. Although when you get to your tent Terezi is sitting on your bed eating a stick of red chalk. Your face immediately turns into a frown when you see her.

"What are you motherfucking doing in here Terezi?" You ask your frown hanging on to your face.

"Well I was thinking about joining you in your preshow routine," She said with that smile that you absolutely hated. You had never really got along with Terezi although her act was really cool, she's able to see things by smelling and tasting them. You where pretty sure that she was some creature from another planet because she was just so motherfucking weird, not that you had any room to talk either I mean you always were a pretty weird motherfucker, and your dad always put you and Terezi together for stuff. Apparently because you were the same age so you must work well together. Now that was that all kinds of untrue because whenever you were in close quarters with that chick a fight broke out. They weren't even the only 18-19 year olds that worked there. First there was your best friend Karkat who actually didn't have an act but worked all kinds of jobs mostly involving set up and take down. Then there was Kanaya who did that weird thing with the bag of confetti and changing clothes that still continued to blow your mind. Finally there was Feferi who could pretty do anything involving water, from holding her breath for hours a time to being able to survive the thousand foot drop into a tiny pool.

"No motherfucking way," you reply to Terezi

"Come on Gamzee I want to try this 'miracle elixir' that you keep talking about."

"Then you can go buy some yourself, now get out I need to get my face paint on." You crossed your arms over your chest but she wasn't moving. "Do I need to motherfucking say it again? Get out!" That got her moving off your bed and towards the exit but she was still moving far too slow for your tastes, so you walked over to her put your hand on her lower back and pushed her the rest of the way out of your tent. After you made sure that she would stay out you turned to your attention to makeup table on your left. Your tubes of face paint scattered pretty much everywhere on the table. You never were one for cleanliness and the fact that you grew up surrounded by circus people probably doesn't help either. You just shrug your shoulders and begin applying your gray scale clown makeup; it's no use worrying about it now regardless of the beat down you're most likely going to get from your father, when it takes you hours to clean up your tent. When you're paint is finished and looking good you reach for your mini fridge and grab a bottle of the miraculous elixir that Terezi was mentioning earlier (not like you would ever share with that crazy ass chick). The thought of Terezi immediately brings another frown to your face. You're frowning a lot today and that is all types of unmiraculous; your mind suddenly switches to the boy who had been outside of your fathers test. He was kind of cute now that you think about it with his big doe eyes and fluffy Mohawk. You chuckle at yourself and your idiotic infatuation with random strangers. Your thinking is cut off with your father yelling at everyone to get moving. You sigh and put your half finished Faygo back into the fridge. Your father seriously needs to take a chill pill or he's going to pop a vessel or something.


	2. Chapter 2

Well so much for that plan you think as you're dragged across the courtyard for the second time. You had tried to sneak in through the side gate but I suppose Vriska is a mind reader because she already had two of her goons stationed there waiting for you. Before you know it you're being kicked in the side from multiple directions. You can already taste blood in your mouth and you hope that they'll get bored and be done soon. Then you hear a squeal coming from somewhere to your right.

"Ahhhhh, Tavros! Equius do something!" The kicking immediately stops and Vriska and her "friends" start running in the other direction. Another pair of footsteps begins walking up to your bruised and battered body. You lift your head just enough to see Nepeta hovering over you with Equius brooding behind her.

"Tavros are you okay?" She asks worriedly. You push your body off the ground so that you're leaning on your elbows.

"D-don't worry Nepeta, I'm fine." You try to sit all the way up but a bruise on your side makes you wince.

"You are not okay Tavros, you need to go home and rest," she insists, helping you back onto your feet.

"I can't do that," you complain, "I, uh, missed all my classes yesterday, and um, I can't do that again. I'll be fine and, uh, as soon as I get home I'll take a nap, I promise." She looks at me skeptically for a minute then lets out a sigh.

"Okay, but don't forget about the carnival. We decided to go tomorrow and we're meeting on the boardwalk at 5. I'll still send you a text so you don't forget."

"T-thanks Nepeta, I'll be there." She smiled at me and grabbed my hand

"Come on Tavros the bell is going to ring soon and we don't want to be late." She pulls me back out to the courtyard with Equius following right behind.

"Gammmmzeeeeee, ooooh, Gammmmzeeeeee, wake up." Great now you're hearing voices in your head.

"Gamzee, Wake up!" Wait that voice isn't in your head its Terezi being the annoying fucker that she is. You open your eyes and that the only thing that you see is the red of Terezi's glasses. You jump back in surprise and fear.

"Holy shit Terezi!" You scream at her.

"Good morning, Gamzee," she said wearing that creepy smile.

"Why are you in my tent again motherfucker," you ask begrudgingly.

"Your father is looking for you, and he doesn't look happy. I felt like I should warn you."

"GAMZEE, WHERE THE MOTHERFUCK ARE YOU!" You hear your dad yelling in the distance. You groan and roll out of bed, Terezi takes a seat on the now empty bed.

"Terezi stop motherfucking smiling at me and go back to your tent."

"But you're so interesting to be around," she said sarcastically. At least you think she's being sarcastic, it's hard to tell with her.

"I'm serious Terezi, I need to get dressed."

"I can smell that." You roll your eyes at her and your father enters your tent looking angrier then you have ever seen him.

"GAMZEE, WOULD YOU MIND EXPLAINING TO ME WHAT THIS IS!" He yelled holding a bag filled with your weed. Shit he found it.

"How do you know that's mine motherfucker?"

"TEREZI TOLD ME THAT IT WAS YOURS!" You don't turn to look at her but you can tell that she was smiling her usual creepy ass smile.

"Well then that motherfucker was lying."

"YEAH RIGHT, YOU'RE ON STABLE DUTY FOR THE NEXT MONTH." He then turns on his heel and stomps out of the tent. You are mad to put it lightly, not only did you lose the rest of your weed but you now need to clean up after all the motherfucking animals. Your head whips around to Terezi ready to rip out all of her hair but she had the sense to leave in that short time that your dad was yelling at you. Great you're angry and frustrated and you don't have anything to calm you down. This is going to be a long day.

Don't pass out, don't pass out, don't pass out. That has been running through your head like a mantra all day. Your bruises hurt like hell and your feet feel like they have been replaced by lead, and really you would like nothing more then to lie down… Don't pass out. Your eyes snap open and you realize that you were leaning against your locker. Maybe you should listen to Nepeta's advice and just go home. That would have been a great idea if the bell wasn't going to ring soon and you weren't already failing history. You sigh and open your locker; you wonder why it is that Vriska always targets you, of all people. I mean sure you're to nervous to actually ever tell an adult what's going on, then there's your stuttering, and your clumsiness. Jeez you wonder why everyone doesn't pick on you. You sigh again and close your locker; you just seem to have the worst luck in the world it's no wonder you can never manage to land a date. When you get to your class there is barely anyone there, and among those few people is Vriska. As soon as she sees you a smirk crosses her face. You try to ignore her and find a seat as far away from her as possible. She retaliates by sitting right next to you.

"Soooooooo, toreadork how's your day going so far?" She asks that smirk still plastered on her face. You don't answer. "What's wrong Tavros are you hurt?" You are about to say something when she punches you in the side, hard. The pain is unbearable, you're already covered in bruises and Vriska's new one is not helping one bit, but you don't scream. You bite your lip and squeeze your eyes shut, but you don't scream. She just laughs and goes to talk to one of her friends that just walked in. The pain doesn't stop and you completely zone out in the rest of your classes. It isn't until you get home that the pain starts to reside. Sadly you can't take the nap that you promised Nepeta, because you have work. You quickly change into your uniform and head out. The pet shop isn't to far from where you live which is one of the reasons you chose the place. When you enter the shop you see your manager stocking shelves. The manager is Nepeta's sister Meulin which was kind of how you got this job in the first place.

"Oh there you are Tavros, I was wondering if you where going to come in today, Nepeta said that you got beat up," she said turning her attention from the shelves.

"Oh, uh, yeah, but I'm okay now," you said hoping that she didn't make you go home.

"Okay then you can finish stocking these shelves," she replied turning and going behind the counter.

"G-got it," you stuttered. You're almost done when a girl walks into the shop. She heads strait towards the fish aisle and pushes her face up against the tanks. You look over towards Meulin to see if she's going to help the girl, but you can tell she's to busy with whatever she doing behind the counter. The girl still has her face pressed against the glass when you walk over to her.

"C-can I help you Mrs.," you ask politely. She turns her head from the glass and looks at you.

"Oh you can call me Feferi and I was wondering if you had any exotic fish, I absolutely love the ones with all the colors" she asked jumping in place, her blonde ponytail bouncing up and down.

"U-uh yeah, um, can I ask what size your tank is?" You ask hesitantly.

"Oh it's about the same size as that one," she points to the 25 gallon tank behind you.

"I, uh, think that I have the perfect fish for you, um, this way." You lead her towards the tank at the end of the row. Inside are fish that kind of look like tiny krakens of many different colors.

"Oh my god, I love them, what are they?" She asked pressing her face against the glass again.

"Um, they're called cuttlefish; I don't really know much about them, they, uh, just came into the shop."

"I'll take five," she said her voice muffled by the glass.

"O-okay one moment please." You turn to the nearest sink and grab a clear pitcher and begin siphoning water from the tank. Once it's halfway full you grab a net.

"W-which ones would you like?"

"One of each color," she says removing her face from the glass. You nod and dip your net into the tank. When there are five in the pitcher you grab a plastic bag and dump the contents of the pitcher inside. Then with precision and practice you spin the end and tie a twist tie around it.

"H-here," you hand her the bag, "You can ask Meulin to check you out."

"Thank you…" she looks at your name tag, "Tavros." Feferi turns on her heel and skips towards the counter fish in hand.


	3. Chapter 3

Your father is and idiot, you told him that you weren't feeling well and what does he say 'Some good hard work is sure to make you feel better.' Most parents would tell their child to lay down take a nap but no, your fucked up father is making you work in a two hour long show while cleaning out the stables in between your breaks.

"Gamzee, Could you please help with this," Kanaya asks in that sickeningly sweet voice of hers. You turn towards her and see that she's having trouble with one of her outfits.

"You've got two motherfucking hands," you snap, "do it yourself." She fixes you with a questioning glance.

"Gamzee, are you quite alright?" She asks politely untangling herself form the dress and throwing it on a nearby chair. You're frustrated, angry, and downright pissed, so why not tell her the truth.

"You know what Kan," you start, "I'm not okay, my father managed to find my entire motherfucking stash and it just so happens that I just bought it so I can't get more for another six months! Terezi is being a bigger bitch then normal and dumped all my Faygo into the MotherfuckingOcean, and I'm stuck on stable duty for the next month, not to mention I feel like shit!"

"My my I see why you might be frustrated."

"Kan I am past frustrated, I am motherfucking pissed."

"I see, and what would you normally do to relive this stress?"

"Normally I would motherfucking smoke."

"Although I can't help you in the smoking area, may I suggest an alternative?"

"Like what."

"Well Rose says that yoga is a magnificent way to relive stress."

"I ain't going to a motherfucking yoga class Kan,"

"Maybe you could relive yourself from the source of your stress."

"Seeing as though that source is my motherfucking father I'm not sure I can do that."

"GAMZEE YOU'RE UP NEXT IN RING THREE!" Your father yells from the mysterious place that he goes during shows.

"Don't worry Gamzee I'm sure that you'll figure it out eventually," Kanaya says encouragingly.

"Yeah, yeah," you sigh as you grab your clubs and start walking towards the ring at the far right.

"INTRODUCING TO RING THREE GAMZEE MAKARA!" Your father's voice booms from the speakers. You step into the middle of the ring and raise your clubs above your head. You allow your eyes to scan the crowd and they fall onto the boy with the Mohawk. It was the same boy who had accidently spilled his slushie all over that blonde girls shirt. Your fake smile is quickly replaced by a genuine one as you begin your act.

"Oh my god, Oh my god, Oh my god, that was so cool did you see that Tavros there were lions and tigers and elephants and horses and clowns and ohmygod that was cool." Nepeta goes on screaming and running in front of you. You laugh at her enthusiasm and look back to Equius and Aradia who are trailing behind you and the over caffeinated Nepeta. You normally wouldn't go to these things mostly because you felt like there were always too many people but you where actually having quite a bit of fun. The show had just got done and the four of you where now walking down the boardwalk to a nearby taco joint.

"Hey Tavros what was your favorite part of the show?" Nepeta asks turning around and walking backwards. You think over all the acts that you had saw in your head trying to decide which one you liked the most, your mind immediately thought about the boy with the clown makeup. You weren't really sure what it was about that one act that stuck out so much. Many of the other acts had been more exiting and unbelievable, but there was something about the way he seemed to look right at you that just made you feel… weird. Although he couldn't have been looking _right _at you, I mean you where just a face in the crowd, nothing special.

"W-well I don't really know Nepeta I, uh, kind of liked all of it," you answered shakily fiddling around with your hands. She tilted her head at you in slight confusion.

"Come on Tavros there had to be something that you liked more then the rest." When you didn't say anything she just frowned, "Well my favorite part was the lion tamers, how they could control such wild and ferocious beasts it was amazing!" She said turning around to walk normally again.

"Y-yeah amazing," you stuttered quietly.

Man you feel better then you have all week. You where relaxed and I daresay happy and all because of some stranger in the stands. That settled it you had to meet this guy at any means necessary. Although you had no idea how in the world you where going to be able to do that considering that you didn't even know his name.

"Gamzee, where the fuck are you!" Says a voice from outside your tent, you turn on your computer chair just as Karkat walks in.

"Hey motherfucking best friend, did you need something?" You asked looking at him with a loopy grin.

"Kanaya said that you where stressed or some shit and sent me over to check on you," he says looking at you with a confused frown.

"Oh yeah could you motherfucking apologize to her for me, I didn't mean to up and motherfucking yell at her," you say turning back towards your desk and bringing one knee up to your chest.

"Yeah, why did you do that," he says going over to your bed and sitting on it.

"Well I suppose you heard that my dad took all motherfucking weed."

"And?"

"Well when I haven't had a smoke in awhile I get really motherfucking stressed, and eventually I end up either yelling or beating the motherfucking shit out of somebody."

"Okay so what happened, I mean you seem to be back to your stoner self." You smiled and turned towards your bed to look at him.

"Miracles bro, that's what happened."

"Gamzee don't be stupid just give me a strait answer."

"It was a miracle bro, a miracle with a Mohawk."

"Wait, hold the fuck up. This 'miracle' was a guy."

"I'm telling you Karbro this guy has the cutest motherfucking face."

"Hold on, is this one of your weird ass stranger crushes."

"Pretty much."

"Gamzee this needs to stop, just because you think that someone is cute or funny doesn't mean that they are 'the one' not to mention that you always end up making a huge fool out of yourself!"

"I know that Kar but I'm telling you I need to at least meet this motherfucker."

"Why!"

"There's just something about him, I don't know it's really motherfucking weird."

You could almost feel your body slowly shutting down you where so tired. After you had all ate at the taco bell on the boardwalk Nepeta had wanted to do something else before going home, needless to say you didn't get back until 1:30. The next morning Nepeta had insisted that you walk with her and Equius so you didn't get beat up again. It worked and you managed to stay awake for the rest of the school day, but now you where at work and even after drinking at least three cups of coffee you could still feel sleep catching up with you. Your eyes started to involuntarily close and you rested your head next to the register. You weren't sure if you fell asleep or not but you are woken up by the bell above the door and a loud female voice.

"Thank you so much for coming with me Gamzee," the loud voice says.

"It's no motherfucking problem Fef just a friend helping a friend," says a slurred male's voice. You lift your head up and squint at the two customers who had just walked through the door. One of them was the girl who had come in yesterday and with her was a tall male wearing a purple sweatshirt.

"Good afternoon Tavros," said the girl whose name you remembered to be Feferi.

"W-well you too," you stutter quietly, "I-is there something you, uh, need?"

"Yes well you see I didn't buy any food for my cuttlefish yesterday thinking that I could just use the food from my other fish but they won't eat it," she said with a pout.

"W-well they, um, probably wouldn't eat the flake food but, uh, they might eat the pellets, and if that doesn't work I, uh, suggest freeze-dried or frozen food," you say stumbling through your sentence.

"Where can I find the pellets?" She asked politely tilting her head in the same way Nepeta does when she is confused.

"Oh um right over there," you said pointing in the direction of the fish tanks, "The, uh, fish food aisle is right next to the, um, tanks."

"Thank you Tavros," she said sweetly dashing down the aisle. You turned to the man that had walked in with her expecting him to follow, but he didn't, he just stood there looking at you with a peculiar look on his face. _Why is it that he looks so familiar_, you thought to yourself. Before you are able to ask him if he needs anything his body bends forward and he rests his arms on top of the counter.

"So your name's Tavros then," he says with a large grin. You just stare at him with an open mouthed stare. "Gamzee Makara," he says holding out his hand for you to shake. _Gamzee Makara _you think, it definitely sounds familiar.

"Um, Tavros Nitram," you say grabbing his hand and shaking it. He shoots you an even wider smile which immediately makes butterflies the size of monster trucks flutter inside your stomach. By now you are pretty sure that you're blushing so you remove your hand from his and put it back into your lap. A slight look of disappointment flashes across his face but it disappears so fast you're not sure if you even saw it.

"D-do I, uh, know y-you from s-somewhere?" You ask your stuttering getting worse as the butterflies continue to grow with size. Before he is able to reply to your question Feferi comes back with a few bottles of shrimp pellets.

"Will this be enough, do you think?" She asks you setting the bottles on the counter next to Gamzee's arms.

"I-it, uh, s-should be," you say already scanning the three bottles. Gamzee stands up and moves out of the way for Feferi who is getting her wallet from her purse. As you bag the three items and tell her the total you keep watching Gamzee from the corner of your eye. He reaches for one of the flyers stacked on the opposite side of the register and pickpockets a pen from Feferi's purse. As you take Feferi's money and put it into the register he quickly writes something on the paper. You hand Feferi her change and Gamzee folds up the paper and puts the pen back into Feferi's purse.

"Thank you Tavros you've been a lot of help," she says with a smile and turns towards the door. Gamzee smiles at you one more time before sliding the paper towards you.

"Message me sometime," he says and turns to follow Feferi. You're frozen until the two of them walk down the sidewalk and out of sight. With shaking hands and a red face you pick up the piece of paper and open it. Inside is the word **terminallyCapricious**, you can immediately tell that it's a pesterchum user name due to the fact that you have one yourself thanks to Nepeta's constant insisting. Although you don't own a computer yourself sometimes Meulin will allow you to use the one in the shop. You shove the paper into your pocket and take a steadying breath to stop the shaking in your hands. _What is with you, why are you reacting this way, and why does the name Gamzee Makara sound so familiar?_ You ask yourself holding your head in your hands.


	4. Chapter 4

_Gamzee_ _Makara._ The name was still floating through your head. You just couldn't seem forget it and you where almost 100% sure that you had heard that name somewhere before. That was only reason you haven't just forgotten about the whole incident yet; at least that's what you managed to convince yourself. You had already put Gamzee's chumhandle into the computer at the shop, but you haven't yet gained enough confidence to actually message him. Although doing so probably would have saved you a few headaches and sleepless nights. You're still immersed in your thoughts about the strange boy when you feel a soft poking in you middle of your back.

"Tavros are you okay?" Nepeta asks in a hushed voice just as the bell rings signaling the end of class. You stand up and grab your bag slinging one strap over your shoulder.

"I'm f-fine why do you ask?" You say turning towards her.

"Well," she says, "You just seemed a little distracted and I was wondering if everything was okay, you know home wise?" You give her a sad smile, Nepeta was the only one who knew what had happened with your parents, although she had found out on accident, it meant a lot that she had kept such a secret.

"N-no I'm doing fine, really, you don't, uh, need to worry," you say walking out of the classroom in front of her.

"Are you sure, I mean you've been really distracted lately," she says craning her neck to look at you.

"T-there's nothing wrong Nepeta, really," you say leading the two of you to your shared locker.

"Well you've been thinking about something quite a bit; a penny for your thoughts?" You just turn to look at her debating whether or not to tell her about Gamzee and how you couldn't seem to get him out of your head.

"Nepeta, have you, uh, ever heard of anyone named, G-Gamzee Makara?" She gives you a confused look as you get to your locker.

"Wasn't he that juggler from the circus?" You froze, of course, he was the weird guy that you thought was staring at you, but why would he give you his chumhandle; this just didn't make any sense.

"T-thanks Nepeta it had been bothering me." She tilts her head at you in confusion as you open your shared locker.

"Why was the name of some juggler be bothering you?" She says in that innocent tone of hers.

"W-well it was my favorite act and, uh, I just couldn't place the name." That was it; you had just lied to your best friend for the first time, and you had done it like it was almost nothing. You immediately you felt an overbearing sense of guilt. You wanted to apologize, you wanted to tell her what was really on your mind, but you didn't, you just switched out your books out for your next class.

"Really, see Tav I knew that you had a favorite." She then grabbed her binder and ran off to her next class, leaving you alone to your thoughts. As soon as she was out of sight you closed the locker and walked in the opposite direction towards the bathrooms. When you opened the door you quickly noted that the room was empty, perfect place to think until 6th period. You quickly went into the large handicapped stall closed the door behind you and sat with your head in your hands. _What was wrong with you, why would you lie to Nepeta, and for what, some random juggler from the circus? This wasn't right you weren't supposed to lie to Nepeta and you weren't supposed to fall for a random stranger. _Wait where did that come from, falling for some random stranger; that's not what was happening, was it? Ahhh, stupid brain thinking stupid thoughts. You slam your head against the stall door just as the bell for 5th period rings throughout the hallways. You really shouldn't be thinking about this so much but lets face it, he is the only person who has ever shown any romantic interest in you (unless you call Vriska's passive aggressive tendencies romantic interest). Needless to say you're flustered, why would anyone take an interest in you? You're plain and clumsy and he's probably forgotten about you by now.

You are almost a hundred percent sure that your smile is five miles long. If meeting him on some random shopping trip isn't a miracle then there is no such thing, and now you have a name to put with the face, Tavros, just the way it rolls off your tongue when you say it. Not to mention he's the cutest motherfucker you've ever seen, the way his face seemed to glow red when he was embarrassed, you where hooked. Staring up at the roof of your tent smiling like a total and complete fool, you wouldn't even care if Terezi started bugging you.

"What the hell are you smiling at you creepy clown!" You turn your head to look at your best friend in the whole world.

"Karkat, miracles are real," You slur turning your head back towards the ceiling.

"Okay… are you high?"

"No man," you sit up on your bed, "Remember that cute ass motherfucker I was talking about, with the Mohawk?"

"Yes?"

"Well I went with Fef to get her cool fish some motherfucking food right, and he was right there, working at the shop." Karkat fixes you with a suspicious stare.

"Okay, so…"

"So gave him my chumhandle." He sighs deeper then what you thought was possible for a 19 year old.

"Gamzee you can't give random strangers a way to stalk you."

"No man he wouldn't do something like that."

"How the hell do you know, this guy is a complete and random stranger that for some reason you won't stop talking about!"

"Maybe I should have asked him for his."

"Gamzee are you even listening to me, for all you know this guy could be a sex offender!"

"Bro no one that cute could be anything evil."

"You know what fine, but don't come running to me if you get raped." Karkat then stomped out of the tent an angry glare secured onto his face. You ignored his last comment and grabbed your laptop off of your bedside table. Turning it on you immediately opened pesterchum. To tell the truth you where starting to get worried, it had been a week and he still hadn't messaged you. Now you really wished that you had asked for his, at lest then you wouldn't have to worry about never seeing him again.

_This was it, you where going to do it, you where going to message him_, you thought as you walked towards the pet shop. This had been weighing down sense the moment he handed you the piece of paper and you need to get it off your chest for the fear that it might suffocate you. Walking through the front door you gave a small nod to Meulin before going into the back room. You quickly sat into the computer chair and turned on the old computer praying that it turned on before you lost your nerve. Watching the screen go through its usual start routine you began to chant to yourself, _you will message him, you will message him, you will message him._ The computer turned on and you logged into Pesterchum continuing to silently chant, _you will message him_. You chose his chum handle and clicked the message box, _you will message him. _You typed in a simple uHH… hELLO and let your finger hover over the enter key, _you will message him._ Closing your eyes you hit the key and watched the words go up on your screen.

**-adiosToreador began pestering terminallyCapricious [TC] at 15:45-**

**AT: uHH… hELLO**

**TC: hEy MoThErFuCkEr I wAs StArTiNg To ThInK yOu WeReNt GoNnA mEsSaGe Me**

**AT: wELL, uHH, i DID, i SUPPOSE…**

You couldn't help feeling like this was really weird, talking to some guy you met once, not to mention this guys quirk gave you a little bit of a headache.

**TC: aNd BoY aM i HaPpY tHaT yOu DiD**

What is that supposed to mean, maybe you shouldn't have done this it's just leaving you with an even bigger headache, but you needed answers.

**AT: sOOO… uHH, wHY EXACTLY DID YOU WANT ME TO MESSAGE YOU**

**AT: i MEAN I DONT THINK IVE EVER, uHH, mET YOU BEFORE YESTERDAY**

**TC: wElL i SuPpOsE wEvE nEvEr MeT iN pErSoN bUt YoU cAmE tO mY sHoW**

So he was the juggler from the carnival, but why did he want to talk to you? This was making you even more confused, maybe you shouldn't have messaged him. It would have been better if he had just remained some mysterious stranger.

"Tavros are you just going to sit back here all day or are you going to work," Meulin scolds with her hands on her hips.

"Oh, y-yeah just a moment," you reply looking at her over your shoulder. She gives you a nod before walking back into the store's front. Looking back towards the chat box you debate just closing the box but you quickly decide against it knowing just how rude it would be.

**AT: hEY, iT WAS, uHH, nICE TALKING TO YOU BUT I NEED TO WORK NOW**

**TC: tHaTs CoOl BrO iLl JuSt MeSsAgE yOu LaTeR **

**-terminallyCapricious [TC] ceased pestering adiosToreador at 15:47-**

Watching the chat box close down you let out a long breath, out or relief or something else you're not sure but you could tell that this wasn't going to be the last time you spoke with Gamzee Makara.


	5. Chapter 5

"GOD DAMN IT!" you screamed desperately trying to shake the offending mouse trap off of your hand. As the small plank of wood hits the side of a nearby tent, you silently curse your father for ever deciding to have children. You pull your hand to your chest and hiss at the residing pain. You seem to be having an unreasonable amount of bad days lately, and to think just yesterday you had been giggling like a school girl because Tavros had finally messaged you, amazing how things could turn around so quickly.

"GAMZEE WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE!" your head snaps up and you glare at the man who is currently making you replace every single motherfucking one of the mouse traps.

"The motherfucking trap snapped on my hand," you growl at him. He looks at you with a slight look of distaste.

"That's all, and here I was thinking it was motherfucking serious," he says turning to leave without as much as a backwards glance. You're furious, angrier then you've been all week, and you are more then ready to explode. You pick up the mouse trap and chuck it at the back of your fathers head as hard as possible.

"OUCH, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" He shouts bringing his hand up to the back of his neck and turning to you.

"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with me is the fact the for the past 6 months, no wait make that the last 6 years, you have turned me into your fucking slave! You are on my ass and berating me at every chance you get, making me do almost everything, from cleaning Feferi's tanks, to making me replace every single one of the motherfucking mouse traps! If they where in moderation I would understand but you give me task after task after task, most definitely not a healthy workforce for an 18 year old and you want to know what I motherfucking can't take it anymore!" You're shaking with rage and the argument continues for a good 15 minutes, by the end you're running through the colored tents until you locate your purple one. Ripping open a few of your drawers you pull out clothes and stuff then into a bag. You grab your laptop from your desk before you're running through the tents again until you find your old truck; you don't use it much, only when you're moving locations. Yanking open the door you chuck your things into the passenger seat and start the truck. You drive around for a good hour getting lost twice before you find the familiar building. You march up the stairs to the second floor leaving all your stuff in the car to be brought up later. Quickly scanning the doors you find the one labeled B22, you pound your fist into the door allowing it to absorb some of your pent up anger. Footsteps are heard from the other side and the door is opened to reveal the familiar shape of your brother.

"Kurloz, he's being an asshole again, I need a place to stay," he just nods and users you inside.

* * *

Talking with Gamzee has left you even more confused, yet at the same time a strange sense of calm has settled over you. Resting your head on the desk you listened to the teacher ramble on and thought more about the tall stranger that for some reason taking up a large amount of your thoughts. Nepeta looks down at you and looks at you strangely before ripping out a piece of paper from her notebook and jotting down a quick note. She hands it to you under your conjoined desk and you lift your head to read the note.

_: 33 hey tavros whats going on?_

_uHH… wHAT DO YOU MEAN, iF YOU DON'T MIND ME ASKING?_

_: 33 you cant hide anything from me tavros i know that look_

Looking to your left you shoot her a questioning glance but she's to busy looking around the room with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

_i STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, wHAT LOOK?_

_: 33 come on tavros that starry eyed look, zoning out way more then usual, you like someone_

A huge blush takes up your entire face and your hand shakes as you write out a reply.

_wHAT… i, uHH, dON'T REALLY_

_: 33 tavros as a expert shipper i know about these types of things, now tell me is it someone in this class_

At this point she looks like a squirrel on caffeine as she fidgets in her chair looking at you with one of the biggest smiles that you have ever seen on her face. You mouth a quick 'no' to her and she deflates for only a second before stealing the paper from your hands again.

_: 33 fine then i shall come over after school and we will discuss this new love interest of yours_

_nEPETA PLEASE, i REALLY DON'T LIKE ANYONE_

_: 33 lies i shall get it out of you tavros dont try to hide it_

Looking back at your energetic friend you write out a simple '_f-FINE_' and put the paper into her hands. She reads it and beams at you. That smile lasts the rest of the day until it's just the two of you in your apartment studying on top of your dirty coffee table.

"So Tavros are you going to tell me who it is?" she says grabbing your attention away from your math textbook.

"Nepeta I'm really sorry but I, uh, don't like anyone," you say shaking your head. She gives you a perplexed look before realization crosses her features.

"Yes you do, you just won't admit it to yourself," she says leaning across your coffee table to look at you strait in the eye. You simply look at her in bewilderment before your face turns completely red, Gamzee, for some strange and insane reason you have a crush on Gamzee Makara. Nepeta looks at your blushing face and bursts into a fit of giggles.

"I suppose you've figured it out then," she says sitting back down, you simply nod not quite trusting your voice to make real words, "Well, who is it?!"

"W-well, um, I don't r-really, uh, think it's all that i-important," you say fidgeting with your hands.

"Tavros come on I don't think that you've ever had a real crush on a girl before," she says squirming in her seat, but you on the other hand sit perfectly still as you think about the second meaning to her words. If you really do have a crush on Gamzee and that may just be a maybe, does that make you gay or bi or something, it's not like you really have enough experience to say one thing or the other. Being the awkward boy you are kind of drives off everyone, male or female. You're pretty sure that Nepeta would be thrilled one way or the other, but you don't think that you where ready to admit anything to yourself just yet.

"Nepeta I'll t-tell you later I promise b-but I need to think some things through, okay?" You say silently begging her not to push further. She just pouts and lets out a huff of air.

"Fine, but you have to promise you will tell me," she says fixing you with an unwavering stare. You give her a small smile before nodding.

* * *

_God, you must look like some sort of coke addict in withdrawal_, you think to yourself as you roll over on your brother's couch. After storming into his apartment like a bat out of hell you could finally feel yourself starting to calm down, only to think of your father and get angry again. You could faintly hear Kurloz bringing your hastily packed things from your car and setting them next to the couch.

"Kurloz, bro you don't need to do that," you say as he sets your laptop on the coffee table in front of you. He smiles down at you before quickly signing something. Geez it's been years sense you've needed to translate his speedy sign language. "Hey now motherfucker it's been a few years I'm gonna need you to go slower." He looks a little irritated but complies with your request.

'What exactly happened?' he signs looking down at you carefully.

"Just the usual, he got mad, I got mad, fights broke out and I left, but thank goodness I don't have to sleep next to a dumpster this time," you say sitting up and rubbing your face. Kurloz's hands move faster as a look of frustration and worry crosses his features.

'Why where you sleeping next to a motherfucking dumpster?' Dragging both your hands down your face you look up at him.

"Well I don't exactly have a place to crash at every location we go to, so when that motherfucker gets mad I don't really have a choice," you state leaning back in your seat and clasping your hands behind your head.

'You can't pay for one night in a hotel?' he signs still giving you the angry parents glare.

"Well usually it's longer then one night and he doesn't really pay me enough as it is," you say relaxing into Kurloz's couch. He just looks at you before sighing and disappearing down the hallway. When he leaves your line of sight you immediately turn to look at your computer. _Would Tavros be on right now?_ You ask yourself eyeing its stickered surface. _Talking with him is definitely what you would need right now._ The computer is set on your lap as it boots up and you quickly log in. AdiosToreador is lit up indicating that he is indeed online. Shooting him a message he replies almost immediately. The two of you talk for a few hours and by the time you finally turn off your computer you can't even remember why you where mad.


End file.
